How Do You Do It?

[+airporter]

I'm curious to find out what techniques people use to find the caches. Until recently I used to write the coordinates down on a small card (the type you use when giving speeches) and then walk around until the numbers on my geocache matched up with the numbers on the card. I have now taken to entering the co-ords into my GPS and then using the distance and bearing functions. Does anybody use a magnetic compass? I have thought about doing that and would probably have served me well a few times. Also is there anybody out there who uses UPS co-ords. I did once. Its not natural though.

 

Yours Curious

[+Airmapper]

What kind of GPS are you using. It should have a goto feature to make it a lot easier, but some people prefer matching coords manually.

[+Miragee]

I use GSAK to filter the waypoints I then send to the GPSr from GSAK.

 

I use the "Go To" arrow when I am looking for the cache, plus I try to remember to look at my map page to see what other caches are in the area. Sometimes "next nearest" is not actually the next one I want to go to.

 

I have used the compass on my GPSr a couple of times, but only once to find a cache that required me to take a specific bearing and walk a specific distance.

 

I have all the cache data on my Palm in Cachemate, as indispensible a program as GSAK.

[+wilkintj]

I use GSAK as well. I'm pretty new to the tool, just started playing around with it about a week ago, but the more I play with it the more amazing it seems ... especially when used in conjunction with pocket queries and interfacing with a map program like streets and trips. To see a map of your area with dots on it for all the caches that you haven't found makes hunting them down in groups alot easier.

 

I still carry a magnetic compass, but haven't used it since getting the Vista C. I used it a couple times before when using my girlfriend's dad GPSr which didn't have the electronic compass.

 

Haven't gotten into the paperless caching yet ... but have an old palm lying around and I may have to make that next logical step.

[+BlueDeuce]

then walk around until the numbers on my geocache matched up with the numbers on the card.

Sounds kinda like doing math (Math is hard); and you have to carry two things before your eyes? Yikes!

[+penguin44]

My fiance' and I use the gps. From our experience we seem to be placed 10ft or less from the actual cache so we start from the point on the map, she walks out about 10ft and makes a circle around me. Then we search that area. Seems to work pretty well for us. Once we discovered a cache about 40 ft from posted mark. Oh and we use a Garmin i5 as a handheld (only on decent days since it's not weather proof) and I use my GPS18 on my laptop to get to the location. To make it as paperless as possible, we record all clues on my cell mp3 recorder before we leave the house. We only do one or 2 a weekend.

Edited January 5, 2006 by penguin44

[+WalruZ]

Look on your GPS for some option to add a "waypoint". The GPS should display the coordinates you're at as the coordinates for the waypoint and stop to allow you to press "ok". At that point you should be able to scroll to the coordinates in some way and edit them. change them to the coordinates of the cache. Then select the waypoint from some menu in the gps and choose the "goto" option provided. There should be an arrow display available that tells you how far the waypoint is from you and in what direction. follow the arrow, slavishly, over hill and dale without regard to trails or natural obstacles until you get to the cache site. Then perform the following standard checks....

 

check the bridge.

check the hollow tree.

check the picnic table (under)

check the bench (under)

check the log ends

check the lightpost

check the mailbox

check the low branches for a hanger

 

then start looking for the cache.

 

don't forget to take pictures!

[+Confucius' Cat]

of late, my preferred method is to download all the caches in the state using pocket queries and plot them on my mobile computer mapping software.

 

Then when I have free time and pass close to one near the road, I park as close as possible, click the map to get a measuring line showing distance and bearing, then get out my compass and walk off the distance. When close I:

<quote>

check the bridge.

check the hollow tree.

check the picnic table (under)

check the bench (under)

check the log ends

check the lightpost

check the mailbox

check the low branches for a hanger

</quote>

 

i am having a fair amount of success.

[+IndyTechNerd]

I hit Mary Bryan today on a whim. I had just done one near there and had backed my GPSr out to the .5mi setting. As I was driving up the road, it showed up on the radar, so to speak.

 

GSAK is a lifesaver. That combined with the resurrection of my wife's IPAQ and Pocket Queries gets me all I need to know. I follow the arrow to the nearest spot to park, check out the cache page on the IPAQ, the start the moth dance to get to GZ.

 

Once I get to GZ, I'll pocket the GPSr and start glancing around looking for likely spots and/or things that look out of place. Those little colored lids on some containers show up pretty well against a backdrop of damp fallen leaves.

[+ZackJones]

With rare exception I do all of my caching in paperless mode. Like others I use GSAK and pocket queries to filter out the caches I want to hunt. I then load the caches onto my PocketPC where I read them with GPXSonar and to my handheld and StreetPilot 2610 GPSs.

 

Once I get near to the cache area I use the "If I were hiding a cache here where would I put it mode" to look in likely hiding spots. If that doesn't work I'll take a look at the hint and see if that helps me find it. If I find it I get a smiley. If I don't I log a DNF and go onto the next one.

[+GClouse]

When I get to the co-ords, I look around for anything in a 50 ft circle that might be a good hiding place. I do this because my old GPS is only accurate to 49 ft. After that, I spiral out, looking for any trails in the leaves (if I'm in the woods) or any obvious hidey-holes like hollow trees, unnatural piles of sticks or rocks.

[Reviewer Web-ling]

I mostly use GSAK, add aerial photos and topo maps, export it to my Palm, then find the caches without a GPS, just using the maps and aerials. I only use a GPS about 30% of the time, and usually I've already unsuccesfully hunted without the GPS before I even turn it on.

[+Davispak]

I like to use the GOTO on my gps and head off towards the cache. When it reads around 50 feet to the co-ords. I stop and take a look in the area. Just to get " a lay of the land". takes about 15-20 seconds. The I move into the "cache area" and see which way the arrow is pointing. This helps narrow it down to the most likely spots.

Tree bases

Fallen trees/stumps

rock piles

supicious mounds

cleared areas

 

If none of these pan out, I "triangulate the area" What I mean is I walk through the area coming in to the "cache area" from different directions to narrow the search area even more. I only move out about 25 feet from the "cache Point" The cache point is the area My gps originally pointed to and see what the readings come up with. This will usually get you to a very small area that you can search very well.

If this still doesn't work, move completly out of the cache area(about 100-150 feet) and come in to the area from a different direction than you originally came in from and repeat the steps above. read the clues from the web page as well. If you still can't locate, it's time to leave the area before you become too frustrated and go Hulk Smash on the area and start tearing stuff up looking for the cache. Go home, log the DNF and check your info. You can also e-mail the cache owner if you want to ask for some more clues or even the cache hide location.

[+switchdoc]

Og GPSr have little arrow. Og follow arrow. Wife then find cache and laugh at Og.

 

 

Actually we are totally paperless right now. We use a Garmin 60c in geocaching mode. We use the roadmap to close in on the cache and then use the off road mode which provides a directional arrow and distance.

 

The cache information is stored in a ODA using a program called Cache Dragon, which is a little buggy but does a nice job of seperating out the cache details, showing the last 5 logs, and allowing us to decrypt hints on the fly if we get stuck.

 

Then we stick are hands into holes til we find a cache or a large bug.

 

If we cant seem to find it, I tend to strike out 50 feet in a random direction and walk back, alllowing the GPS to guide. Doing this a few times from different directions usually lets us get within a few feet.

Edited January 11, 2006 by switchdoc

[+Melrose Plant]

I switched to paperless once. It worked well. Then something went kablooey and spinner or plucker or something like that quit working. So I went back to the old way, which I like to call "less paper" as opposed to paperless. I print out one of those geocaching.com maps with in the "identify" mode, and manually write the coordinates and any comments in pencil on this sheet. That way, depending on cache density, I can find several caches and make notes for later logging using only one sheet of paper. Downside: It is rather time consuming.

 

After that, I just follow the arrow. Sometimes I find them, sometimes I don't.

 

Melrose

[nobby.nobbs]

garmin gps map 60c and toshiba e750 pda running mobipocket. ok not the best but it does what i want it to.

 

then like everyone. get to the rough area and then start to look for where i'd hide one.

[+edscott]

Punch the coordinates into lostoutdoors.com, print a topo and a more recent aerial photo, drive to the area, walk to the site. If all is good sign in. If it is not there the coordinates are off just a bit so I read the text and figure out where it is.

[+Thrak]

follow the arrow, slavishly, over hill and dale without regard to trails or natural obstacles until you get to the cache site. 

then start looking for the cache. 

OMG! Arrow following is insane. I know someone who routinely climbs up and down nasty hillsides and through berry patches because he follows the arrow like that. I figure the hider usually didn't want to do that so I look for the easier route and I normally end up with a nice trail or at least a much easier route than simply following the arrow. Yes, I DO follow the arrow but not slavishly!

 

I'm going to assume that the quoted text was "tongue-in-cheek" but I can't assume that a n00b reading the post would realize that.

Edited January 11, 2006 by Thrak

[+Jhwk]

begin standard "finding cache" post:

 

1. Use the compass screen versus the map screen. Tells you where to go and how far left to go.

2. Rather than trying to get to the 0 point on your GPSr (basically standing on top of where the cache is SUPPOSED to be, accroding to your GPS) stop about 50-75 feet from the expected location. Then stop looking at your GPS and start looking at your location. Look for the obvious clues to the cache location. Piles of sticks, rocks, dead hollow tree, or stump in plain view. Don't forget to look at the size of the cache you are looking for. Nothing like thinking you are hunting a regular sized cache, when it is actually a micro-cache.

3. Start out with the easiest dificulty caches (D/T). So go for the 1/1 to 2/2 caches first.

4. Have fun and enjoy the great Winter weather.

 

End standard post...

[+ChicagoCanineCrew]

I usually print out a map of the area with the coordinates marked so I can get to the general vicinity. I also usually print out the info from the cache page just in case. Once I'm in the area of the cache I use my GPSr's map feature to get closer to it. Once I'm within about 50-100 feet or so, I walk along, checking the distance from the cache on my GPSr periodically. When it says I'm getting close (20 feet or so depending on EPE) I put my GPSr away and start looking in the obvious places. If that fails I try to get a closer fix using the "distance" on my GPSr if the EPE isn't too high, and then put the GPS away again and look some more.